Title aspirants Goa set up a semi-final clash with Punjab after forcing former champions Manipur to a 1-1 draw in a quarter-final league match in the Air India Express National Football Championship, for the Santosh Trophy, in Kochi, on Thursday.
The draw enabled Goa enter the semi-finals on a better goal difference.
In the three-team quarter-final league, while the Goans had beaten Assam 6-0 Manipur could only win 3-1.
Earlier, last year's runners-up Punjab too qualified for the semi-finals on better goal difference after defeating Tamil Nadu 2-0.
Tomba Singh scored for Manipur in the 86th minute and Goa's Climax Lawrence found the equaliser a minute later.
In an evenly-contested encounter, both the Goa and Manipur enthralled the sparse crowd with their speedy game. The teams eked out lively football and shared the first session's honours, but failed to convert chances that came in their way.
The team from the north-east was the more enterprising. Their midfield functioned with flexibility and verve and dominated the exchanges for major part and succeeded in pinning down the Goans to their own half.
For last year's runners-up Punjab Gyan Moyon (51st minute) and substitute Charanjeet Singh (74th) were the scorers.
Punjab finished the three-team quarter-final league accumulating four points, the same as
Karnataka, but scored four goals and conceded two, while Karnataka scored three goals and conceded two.
